Chemnitz, October 22, 2023
We did it! Together and only together we can EndPolio!

At the end of Bashar's tour in Chemnitz, numerous Rotarians raised awareness for Rotary's major project: End Polio Now

Chemnitz , October 22 ; the final stop of our Journey

October 17; Meeting in Bratislava with District Governor Katarína Čechová

Thank you District 1910

Warm meeting and great support to the Cause! Thank you District 1910

Warm welcome in Vienna

Remarkable moments in Vienna - EndPolioNow Ambassador Bashar Asfour at St. Stephen's Cathedral with Toni Faber and fellow Rotarians from District 1910.

@District 1920 on 14 October 2023;
Thanks to all who participated in this event: RC Salzburg-Land, RC Salzburg Residence, RC Salzburg St. Rupert, RC Golling-Tennengau, Rotary Club Gmunden , Rotary Club Gastein and PDG Walter Ebner, Rotary Jazz fellowship Austria

Another great meeting in Salzburg on 14 October 2023 and 10000 EUR to our fundraiser. Thank you District 1920!

@Rotary Distrikt 1842;
Joint contribution to one of the world's most acute humanitarian challenges #Polio

@Rotary Distrikt 1842
It was an absolute pleasure being part od such inspiring event where everyone delighted to find himself among distinguished Rotarians

Meeting with District 1842 in Munich was one of the peaks of the Journey

October 12, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Meeting with Rotarians from District 1912, https://rotaryslovenija.org/. Thank you dear friends for your efforts!

October 11;
Thank you RC Zagreb Candor for your generous contribution and support!

October 11;
Meeting the first 100% PolioPlus Society Club in our Zone was great honor

October 10, 2023 ; Bashar arrived in Budapest and welcomed by District Governor of D1911, Erzsébet Kovácsné Gila

Belgrade, #WeAreThisClose

Meeting in Belgrade with Rotarians and Rotaractors

October 7, 2023 ;
Meeting with Ovidiu Constantin Bunget, the District Governor of Rotary District 2241 România și Republica Moldova. Thank you for the warm meeting and support of our great cause.

October 7, 2023 ;
#MyJourneyToEndPolio stop in Craiova. Bashar Asfour met great fellows and the great Ovidiu Constantin Bunget, the District Governor of Rotary District 2241 România și Republica Moldova Thank you for the warm meeting and support of our great cause

October 5, 2023
Rotary Clubs of Bucharest had the opportunity to organize, thanks to Rotary District 2241 România și Republica Moldova , an event in the series of My Journey to EndPolio conferences held by Rotarian Bashar Asfour

The president of the Ruse-Danube Rotary Club, Viktor Slavov, presented Bashar Asfour with a club flag. After the meeting with the members of the Ruse-Danube Rotary Club, Bashar Asfur headed to Bucharest

October 5
#MyJourneytoEndPolio stop was at Shipka, Bulgaria. Bashar Asfour met rotarians from Rotary Club Gabrovo and Ротари Клуб Казанлък Rotary Kazanlak . 10 years ago the same place hosted the meeting between Bulgarian and Greek Rotarians along the RideForPolio motorace.

October 4;
Meeting rotarians from Rotary club Stara Zagora and Rotary Club Stara Zagora Beroe, members of Interact Bulgaria and Rotaract Bulgaria

October 4, Bashar stop was in Stara Zagora Beroe

October 4 in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
Great moments of telling the Story at Bulgarian Telegraf Agency studio

Members of Rotary club Svilengrad, Bulgaria met Bashar at the very border of the country, a few meters from Turkish border. The official custom escort demonstrated the great respect of Bulgarian Rotarians to Bashar and his great project.

The final stop of #MyJourneytoEndPolio in 2420 Bölge Federasyonu was in #Edirne. Friendly, engaging ...

Istanbul, we are this close!

Impressive event by District 2420 in honour of Bashar Asfour and supporting #MyJourneytoEndPolio. Special greeting from District governor Mehmet Altay, Hasan Akbayrak and other Rotarians. Thank you for the great donation!

September 29,
Meeting with fellow Rotarians and supporters in Izmit. Every minute was valuable during the discussions.

Meeting with Rotary club Bolu near the highway between Ankara and Izmit

Unforgettable moments in Ankara with fellows from Ankara Rotary clubs

Unforgettable moments in Ankara with fellows from Ankara Rotary clubs.
#MyJourneyToEndPolio is 5000 USD ahead!
Thank You Rotary 2430 Bölge / RI District 2430

On his way to Ankara Bashar stopped for a great meeting in Eskişehir

Impressive #EndPolioNow event the participation of Bursa Bademli Rotary Club and other Bursa clubs

Impressive #EndPolioNow event the participation of Bursa Bademli Rotary Club and other Bursa clubs

From Cesme to Izmir #4
Thank You guys! Great support!

From Cesme to Izmir #3
Thank You guys! Great support!

From Cesme to Izmir #2
Thank You guys! Great support!

From Cesme to Izmir #1
Thank You guys! Great support!

September 22;
Great meeting in Athens with Lorentzos Chazapis, Maria Mastora, Maria Delivoria, Dora Kemou Bitsa, Katerina Kotsali-Papadimitriou

September 22;
Thanks to all our Greek Followers, thank you Greek #RotaryFamily!

September 21, meeting with THESSALONIKI Rotarians!

September 18
Great meeting in Napoli ( District 2101) with President of Rotary International Gordon R. McInnaly

@ Rotary Institute Rome 2023 - on the stage with Holger Knaack, Past RI President and Emma Groenen, EndPolio Now Coordinator.
#WeAreNotDoneYet

@ Rotary Institute Rome 2023 - with Rotary International President Gordon McInally

@ Rotary Institute Rome 2023 - photo session 😎

@ Rotary Institute Rome 2023

A meeting to remember: passing through Italy Bashar Asfour met Rotary Club "Roma Giulio Cesare", Rotary International - Distretto 2080, to raise End Polio Now awareness and importance of giving.

Zurich, District 2000 was the next stop of Bashar.
Rotarians planned a benefit dinner in honour of My Journey To EndPolio and Bashar Asfour was guest of honor. Rotarians were invited to the event at Circle Zurich Airport.
Aidan O’Leary, Director of Polio at the WHO attended the meeting. O'Leary has extensive experience in eradicating polio in countries where wild poliovirus is still endemic. He was the head of polio eradication in Pakistan for UNICEF from 2015 to 2017 and the office chief for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2014.
A new initiative to combat polio was also presented: the Rotary Lounge at Zurich Airport, the proceeds of which will go to the fight against Polio.

On 12th September Bashar Asfour, on his way from Stuttgart to Zurich, stopped at the Rotary Club (RC) Singen on August-Ruf-Straße. He was in his eye-catching VW ID.Buzz, drawing attention to the fact that polio vaccination for children is still urgently needed, stopped in Singen. Welcomed by the President of RC Singen (Hohentwiel), Wilfried Trah, and the polio chair for District 1930, Wilfried Jud, he explained to Rotarian friends and interested citizens in the pedestrian zone why it is still necessary to keep the vaccination rate high.
Even though polio appears to have been almost eradicated, apart from isolated outbreaks of polio in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the vaccination rate must continue to be kept high, as Bashar Asfour explains. By the way, with a donation of 21,000 euros in 2022 for the polio campaign, the RC Singen is in the top of the donor list of German clubs.

https://www.suedkurier.de/region/kreis-konstanz/singen/er-war-selbst-erkrankt-und-wirbt-jetzt-fuer-polio-impfung-bashar-asfour-bereist-dafuer-16-laender;art372458,11718738

Kassel was the next stop on our Journey To EndPolio, District 1820. Local media paid attention and the newspapers there published an interview with Bashar on the topic of "Rotary's fight against polio."
When our Bashar arrived in Kassel, an intercity meeting with Hessian clubs awaited for him. Governor Heidemarie Krüger, the polio commissioner in D1820, Yogesh Shah, as well as the RC Kaufungen-Lossetal and Kassel clubs did not miss the opportunity to hear Bashar Asfour's story. Also present was the city's mayor, Dr. Sven Schoeller, who praised Rotary's fight against polio.
Rotarians had previously appealed to passers-by for support in the eradication of polio and informed them on the Opernplatz in Kassel.

This stop raised 19000 USD added to the Fund.
Thank you D1820.

Bashar was expected at the next stop in Koblenz. Rotary's biggest campaign depends on support, he made clear. That's why every donation counts. An extra account was created with RDG for the end polio tour.
Members of Rotary clubs and Inner Wheel had previously handed over a total of 8,000 euros to support Bashar's Journey to end polio. However, an important goal is also to raise awareness of the topic of vaccination. The success of Rotary's major campaign depends particularly on the clubs and all Rotarians, he makes clear.

A warm welcome also awaited Bashar Asfour in District 2150 (Belgium, Luxembourg). Governor Brigitte Niset and a delegation from the Foundation Committee, together with PDG Emmanuelle Groenen (End Polio Now Coordinator), welcomed Bashar Asfour to the exchange.
The exchange students were also interested in the topic.
Later, more than 80 representatives from various clubs met to hear first-hand news about the disease.
Overall: A sunny tour stop for the “Journey to End Polio” across Europe. The signal from Belgium: “Let us continue to fight together to eradicate polio!”

Hello, Amsterdam! Hello, District 1580!
So now some boxes of the new harvest of EndPolio tulip bulbs are traveling on with Bashar.
On September 5, 2023, Bashar Asfour was in Amsterdam. On the occasion of his arrival there was a mini symposium. The place of business was Camping Vliegenbos in Amsterdam. After a BBQ, Prof. Frans Nollet, rehabilitation physician and researcher at the post-polio expertise center Amsterdam and member of RC Amsterdam Westertoren, gave us background on the global approach to polio, how and why it is still urgently necessary.
Bashar then told his story and explained why he started this campaign. He is also concerned about money, so we raised money on the spot by selling EndPolio tulips. To conclude, district governor Hans Ruck presented Bashar with a check for € 4,000, the funds that we have collected in the meantime from the District and from the clubs.

On the 4th September Bashar met Rotarians of District 1590 in Netherlands.
Beautiful moments along the road. Have you ever been to Groningen stad en provincie, Netherlands? Plan a visit and you will be excited!
Bashar Asfour and fellow Rotarians from Rotary Groningen-West at city hall garden area where #Endpolio Tulips will be planted with city hall members next week meeting.
Tulips and Dutch people simply belong to each other. And Dutch Rotarians have made tulip bulbs a hallmark of Rotarian ENDPOLIO efforts. It is clear that Bashar Asfour also received a package of tulip bulbs immediately after his arrival. These bulbs will continue to be sold with a donation surcharge to help the great Rotary battle.
At an evening event Bashar was able to tell the impressive story of his life. He urged Rotarians not to let up in the fight against polio. Polio has already been eradicated by 99 percent. But that one missing percentage could cause another massive outbreak of the disease, leaving hundreds of children paralyzed, Bashar warned.
My Journey to EndPolio stop in Netherlands created hope for children all over the world !

Bashar met Rotarians and citizens of Bremen. Members of Rotary clubs arranges the alternative location and invited the passers-by to join.
Bashar, is an extremely charming gentleman full of energy though the long and painful course of treatment took too much of his and his family life. He knows what he talks about when he talks about END POLIO his speech motivates.
Bashar and Bremen Rotarians are grateful то Atlantic Hotel for the spontaneous Hospitality and the friendly supply of drinks by the team.
In addition to a number of Rotarians from Oldenburg and Bremen clubs also met some extremely helpful Rotaractors to support Bashar.
District Governor Frank Garrelts was enthusiastic and welcomed the guest to Bremen in the evening.
Thank You District 1850!

А successful event for #MyJourneyToEndPolio with Rotary District 1890 in Hamburg!
Thanks to everyone who made the date very special!
Bashar met people active in the fight against polio directly at the Elbphilharmonie - Rotarians from several clubs, together with governor elect Mariam Ipektchi. Bashar told about the tragedy of polio diseases, which are currently occurring in a few cases only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In the evening, members of Rotary clubs from Hamburg and the surrounding area listened to a polio expert from the Bernhard Nocht Institute and heard Bashar's moving life story.
Donations received during Bashar's tour are being collected in a special RDG account.

Interview with Bashar at the beginning of his trip in Berlin. #TogetherWeEndPolio

Let the Journey begin!
Follow my trip on https://www.instagram.com/myjourneytoendpolio/

Custom-designed ID.Buzz is ready for trip!
#MyJourneyToEndPolio #TogetherWeEndPolio #EndPolio

Looking for more information about project? Take a look at our website -
https://myjourneytoendpolio.com/